Cupani is one I've always grown David - not sure why I or when I first tried it and although it's small, it's really pretty , the scent is great and the colours work with what i like to grow elsewhere!

Fairygirl - You may already know this (others may not), Cupani can be traced back to the 17th century when it's richly coloured but relatively small flowers possessed a powerful and attractive fragrance.

These qualities were enough to ensure its survival after it reached these shores, courtesy of a Sicilian monk, Franciscus Cupani, who sent seeds to Dr. Robert Uvedale, a schoolmaster of Enfield, in 1699.

Cupani clearly considered the sweet pea to be of some importance, because he also sent seed to Caspar Commelin in Amsterdam at the same time.

David - I think that might be the reason I first grew them- the fact that they had some history. I knew they were amongst the oldest ones but not sure if I knew the whole story - or maybe I've just forgotten! It's nice to have something still growing well today after hundreds of years. Matucana is very similar and is often mistaken for it but I've not grown that before.

David - I think that might be the reason I first grew them- the fact that they had some history. I knew they were amongst the oldest ones but not sure if I knew the whole story - or maybe I've just forgotten! It's nice to have something still growing well today after hundreds of years. Matucana is very similar and is often mistaken for it but I've not grown that before.

TBH, I don't grow them now. My main criteria these days is for the show bench....I've been lucky enough to more silverware this year.

If I sow only long stemmed varieties in different colours next year and save and sow the seed the following year, will the resulting plants all be long stemmed even if they don't come true to the parent plants colour?

Hi david glad to see you are back. hope you are well..my sweet peas that you helped me with were beautiful and they smell gorgeous I had never seen sweet peas before ,and i am now hooked. those are lovley little ann mine were not as well planed as yours ,maybe next season. ta debra

Hi, I am new to this forum and to gardening in general. I grew a mix of sweetpeas this year and they are beautiful but some are short stemmed and not great for cutting. If I sow only long stemmed varieties in different colours for next year and save and sow the seed the following year, will the resulting plants all be long stemmed even if they don't come true to the parent plants colour?

Hello, Ashleigh, I spotted a message you posted up-thread and apologise for not replying sooner....anyway, first things first, welcome to the forum.

I've always found that seed purchased from specialist growers, such as 'Eagle Sweet Peas' produce superior blooms with longer stems. That aside, it is quite normal for the stems of all sweet peas to reduce in length as the season progresses.

Those in my picture above (posted 27/08/13) were grown by what is known as the cordon method. This is the system used by exhibitors and is preferred because it produces those long stems.